Cristeros

The Cristeros were conservative Catholic rebels who rose up against the secular government of Mexico during the Cristero War of 1926-1929. Their rallying cry was ''¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!'' ("Long live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!"), and the majority of their soldiers were rural peasants who were strongly religious. The Cristeros targeted schoolteachers in attacks, as they were blamed for the atheist education system in the country. The Cristeros were very successful during the war, but many of them were massacred by the government. The end result of the war was the slight easing of anticlerical laws, although some would remain in place until 1992.